Western Villa hosted Aberdither United in a match vital to both teams, but for very different reasons. It turned out to be a skilful contest, with both teams passing their way forward from the back, without risking much in defence, The home side had slightly the more chances and, as always seems to happen when on a bad run of form, it was from their easiest that Aberdither, with a characteristc good passing move, went up the other end and opened the scoring just before half-time; with Kilbane running onto a pass and producing a first-time strike from the left into the far corner. This was about the only occasion the home defence was caught short staffed, as the full back had joined in an attacking move. Aberdither were clinical, as they so often have been this season.
Despite several second-half efforts, Western couldn't find an equaliser. None of their opportunities could be considered easy, but, on the other hand, hardly any were as difficult as Kilbane's decisive strike.

So, with Bullford's inability to break down Hodwell's stubborn resistance, Aberdithrer United, who have a seven point lead with two matches remaining, are confirmed League Champions for the second successive season. Next up for them, and us; a rematch with Western Villa in the first Cup semi-final.

In Division Two, Blundell City haven't quite achieved promotion yet, and they too, have 'other business' before their next league match.

You could almost sense Aberdither smiling when they lost the coin toss for Western to wear their home kit, of blue and white triangle halves. It meant that Aberdither would be kitted out in grey and black, which they wore successfully in the recent League match.

The opening exchanges were even, but it needed some fine defending by Stevens to prevent Stonebridge having a clear early shot on goal. From the resulting corner, the same forward's glancing header hit the side netting. Apart from that opening, the game remained cagey until Stevens, well into the second quarter, played a long pass, down the right, perfectly into the path of Bracewell, who placed his long shot wide of Lawson, into the far corner to open the scoring. Bracewell almost immediately turned provider when his centre found Mariner, but there were enough defenders around to force a hurried shot, which the keeper saved. In Aberdither's next attack, down the left, Kilbane played a one-two with Mackie before shooting, again wide of Lawson into the far corner to double the lead on the stroke of half-time. The defence had no chance with either goal.

The second half began as the first one had finished, with another Mackie-Kilbane passing move down the left, only this time the shot went across goal and wide of the far post. There then followed a long period of Western pressure, but nothing got passed Hurst and Labone, the attacks went down the wings, and Southall dealt comfortably with the crosses. One such ball from Horswill was nodded on by Stonebridge, but only found Hurst in the perfect position to intercept, with Skinner and Evans poised to follow up and poll a goal back. Skinner did manage a 'shot' on target, when he ran at van den Hauwe, and the ball rebounded from the tackle, onto his shin, only to go wide of the goal. Randell and Skinner were combining well down the right, and, this looked the most likely way Western might have got back into the game. It was not to be, though, and a few minutes from the end, a passing move involving Mariner,van den Hauwe and Dobson ended with Bracewell completing the scoring his second, and Aberdither's third, goal.

So, in their last two games, Aberdither have laid the jinx of Western Villa, and put themselves one match away from the rare achievement of the 'double'.

As for Western, in these two games they have conceded three 'perfect' goals, i.e. ones that the defence can do nothing about, usually due to inch-perfect passing. There are usually only about ten of these during a season in the League. Whether Aberdither have become so good that they have raised the standards, or whether the ball is rolling for them at present, time will tell.

Two teams with contrasting league concerns, lined up for this match, knowing that Aberdither United await the winners.

Long ball exponents Hinton were first into their stride, when Bailey's supply was nodded down by Evans to Barnes, who shot wide. With their next attack they opened the scoring, when Evans, again, nodded on Jones' diagonal cross to Fallon, who hammered the ball home. A few minutes later, a direct free-kick by Castle was blocked by the one-man wall, before the same player went on a solo run from his own half, played a one-two with Fallon, only to have his shot blocked again. From the resulting corner, a shot from a Jones-Gosling-Evans move required another block and scramble away by the overworked defence. It was all rather one-sided, as you've probably gathered, and the final chance of the first half also fell to Hinton, when a Blundell City clearance only found Jones, this time on Hinton's left, and his first-time shot skimmed the post.

This pattern, or lack of one, continued into the second half. Evens thought he'd added a second, but he was penalised for barging. Then he, yet again, nodded on for Barnes, who shot just wide. As the game entered its final third, Blundell City had their first scoring opportunity when, after a passing move, starting from the back, Binney played a one-two with Hourihane, before hammering a shot against the post. The same player then pounced on a bad mistake from Arnason, of all people, only to discover that he, also, had incurred the wrath of the referee for barging. Binney also intercepted a Duguid clearance, but the defender had time to atone for his error. Hinton replied when a Bailey-Gosling-Fallon passing move provided an opportunity for Evans, but his shot was off target. This was the last goalmouth action.

Despite the final score, it had been a far more one-sided semi than the first one. Blundell City will be disappointed, and Hinton supporters will wonder why there have been so few displays like this to watch during the season.

Next time: There's been a difficult choice for our next match for Dave Blackpool to report on. Most of the vital matches, in both divisions, involve teams we've recently seen. So we've decided to go into Division Two and feature Brimpton Rovers, the League's smallest club, who have arrived, under the radar, as surprise promotion contenders. Not too many 'household names' on view, but some of you may recognise a few of the players, from times at various clubs. We hope you can join us.

It's not been the best of week#s for the League, with a couple of off-field problems causing postponement of all matches. The major one was an the spotting of a couple of errors in each league table. They proved very difficult to locate, but it's all been corrected now and steps have been introduced to prevent a recurrence in the future.

So to today's featured match; Flimside v Brimpton Rovers. The visitors were considered to be the smallest, and least wealthy, of the eighteen clubs who began back in 01. Somehow they have continued to survive, despite having very little cash to spend on players. Even at the end of last season two of their better players had to be sold to make ends meet. Despite this, they find themselves one place off promotion to Division One, so we feel they deserve to be involved in one of our features matches. Hosts Flimside have done almost as well, starting out as a non-league club, they just survived their debut season in 03, and progress this time around sees them as the only division Two club guaranteed to be in this division next season. Their strength is in their midfield, compared to Brimpton relying on the solidity of five across the back. Not too many star names today, mainly local heroes and others.

The match: Flimside 0, Brimpton Rovers 2.

There was end-to-end play throughout the first half, but apart from one Brimpton shot going wide, it was only in the final minute that either keeper was required to make a save, when Nicholls, on his line, did very well to prevent Marshall from giving the visitors an interval lead. Immediately after the restart, as though Flimside were trying to make up for lost time, they had a chance almost immediately, when Harvey ran onto a through pass from Collins, but his shot went narrowly wide. There then followed quite a long spell of Flimside pressure, but Brimpton's defence, as they often do, closed down and blocked just about everything that was thrown at them. They then managed to make a quick counter, with right-back Dowling prominent throughout the move, and his shot was turned around for a corner. This proved to be the first of several, when, finally, Lugg's kick found Alessandra just outside the penalty area, and he fired the ball beyond Nicholls to give the promotion-chasers the lead.
The game then continued with its first half end-to-end pattern, and Flimside's best chance came when an running inter-passing move between strikers Reid and Harvey ended with the latter shooting only narrowly wide. With two minutes remaining, Flimside couldn't complete a move to play the ball away from the back, and Garner intercepted, he played the ball forward to target-man Landon, who slipped it left for Marshall to hammer home a second, goal, which proved to be decisive, and ensured Brimpton Rovers remain very much in the promotion race.

With strugglers Alsworth and Molton United respectively holding Reiver Forest 1-1, and defeating Blundell City 1-0, both ends of the Division Two table are still very tight and inconclusive. Back to Division One for our last League match of the season, where victory for South Barsham over Eastroke will ensure their survival. If they don't manage that, Western Villa must still defeat Melchester to climb out of the bottom two. Ernie Bartholomew will be heading there, to keep you informed of events.

Seldom can there ever have been a game in this League where so many chances, for both teams, have failed to produce a goal. This was not a case of bad shooting, although there were obviously a few wayward efforts, but of effective defensive work, and exasperating near misses, especially for the home side.

The first chance came after four minutes, when Horne collected a pass and rounded the defender before shooting narrowly wide. At the other end, Bickle pounced when Patterson dallied, but his shot, also, went wide. A six-pass Eastroke move ended with Temple's shot going the closest so far, by just skimming the upright before, back at the Eastroke end, O'Sullivan's pass found Rickard, who shot wide. An opening goal looked like coming at any moment, but when Nevin's shot, from Stuart's pass, hit the inside of the post before rebounding straight to the grateful Wilmot, Eastroke might have thought that this just wasn't going to be their day, at least. On the stroke of half-time, South Barsham might also have begun the think likewise, when, from Blizzard's long pass down the left, a post again prevented the ball from hitting the inside of the net, this time from Evers' shot.

At the start of the second half, Blizzard and Rickard each had a shot blocked, before Nevin, again, had a near miss at the home end. Saxton then led a break forward, and stayed up for the resulting corner. When Rickard's pass found him, though, his shot possibly revealed why he had been selected primarily for his defensive skills. With time running out, it was Eastroke who had the final opportunity to break the deadlock, when Horne's shot was, you've guessed it, charged down by determined defenders.

So the game, incredibly, remained goalless, and, South Barsham, must await the Western Villa result before knowing their fate.

Western Villa 2, Melchester Rovers 1. It was all looking good for Melchester when Royle gave them an early lead, and Western's only opportunity during most of the first half came when Howard came a long way out to gather a cross and failed to do so, but Stonebridge couldn't quite make the most of his opportunity. Late in the half, and against the run of play, an excellent pass from Piper found Skinner advanced on the right, and he hit a superb shot from long range to equalise.
Melchester continued to have more of the possession and territory in the second half, without creating too many chances, but, on a rare Western venture down the other end, Skinner's centre found Evans, who slipped the ball through to Stonebridge, who fired his side in front. That's the way the score remained, although, in the final minute, a long pass from Kenyon found Royle, but there were enough defenders giving him close attention for his shot to go just wide of the post.
As a consequence of that, Western Villa stay up and South Barsham, possibly unluckily, have to return to playing in Division Two next season.

Quite unusually for recent times, Brookfield Park was bathed in afternoon sunshine for this match. it appeared to suit Hinton, who were on the attack immediately, with Evans' shot going wide. Aberdither replied when Bracewell ran at the defence from half-way, and his shot, across the goal, also went just wide. Southall was then called into action to make a save from another Evans shot, after Labone and Cahill had got in each other's way in their attempts to prevent him from making it. The keeper then had to punch away a corner from under his crossbar. At the other end, a shot from the left by Kilbane was half-blocked by Castle, and then rebounded back to goalkeeper Cherry. From another Hinton long ball, Evans flicked it out to Barnes, who shot narrowly wide.
That was the last action of the first half. The pattern of play had been predictable, with Aberdither constructing passing moves forward, but the slightest error led to the ball coming straight back to their defenders, who were being kept busy and had to remain alert.
Aberdither attacked at the start of the second half, but Duguid dispossessed Kilbane and played the ball down the right to Jones who, with little support, took the shot himself, but it went well wide.The same two players repeated the move a couple of minutes later, this time the shot was better, hitting the side netting. As the game entered its closing stages, Aberdither produced their best move, with Dobson and Kilbane providing a good chance for Mackie, whose powerful shot struck the post. Close, but in truth, a poor miss from their only clear chance.
Down at the other end, Duguid and Jones combined yet again, but this time van den Hauwe blocked the winger's goal bound shot. Then a poor clearance by Castle was returned by van den Hauwe to Kilbane, who centred for Mackie, but Cherry turned his shot around the post. van den Hauwe was again in the action from the corner, and it required a good block by Arnason to prevent him scoring a very late winner.

So extra time was required. Both teams became more cautious in this period, with no-one wanting to make the costly error. Hinton's goal had the closest escape when a shot from Cahill took two deflections before arriving in the safe hands of Cherry, standing on his line.

So, for the third time in four seasons the Cup Final requires a replay. It had been a cagey, strategic game for the most part, with Aberdither restricting Hinton to long-range efforts from wide areas, but creating few opportunities for themselves. Nevertheless, the 'double' is still on for them. The faithful will hope for more excitement in the replay. We will be there.

Both teams were unchanged for this replay, expected to be the last match of the season, although this competition will never be decided by penalties.

Aberdither went straight onto the attack, but Hinton replied with a near miss, but a goal would have been disallowed, due to Barnes' challenge on Bracewell. The Aberdither player took the free kick himself, from which Mariner, in one movement, controlled the ball and played it just in front of him, before hammering home the opening goal. There were just ninety-five seconds on the clock. Aberdither then showed the superiority that the clubs' respective League positions would suggest, although they didn't, during this spell, create another opening. The game had entered its second quarter before Hinton had their first scoring opportunity and, not for the first time, it came from a move down the right, with Duguid's pass setting Jones away, but his shot hit the side netting. Dobson then replied by taking the ball into Hinton's half, and, with the defenders expecting a pass, continued his run towards the penalty area, before his shot lacked power and was easily saved by Cherry.

Aberdither appeared to be in control, with only Jones posing any threat for Hinton, but with their triple strike force well marked, his options were limited. On the stroke of half time, though, Gosling's accurate pass found Fallon, who, for once, got the better of his marker before shooting narrowly wide.

As play in the second half settled down and gathered momentum, it was beginning to look increasingly like a typical 1-0 Aberdither win. Then, a piece of inspiration, or casual defending, depending on your point of view, changed the complexion of the match. The ball came to van den Hauwe, in his usual left back position. With no one near him, he steadied himself for an accurate long pass to his forwards. Jones had other ideas, and nipped in, from a long way away, to dispossess him and play the ball towards goal, before striking it home to equalise before the defender could recover. Aberdither, of course, now had to score again, and it needed a last-gasp interception by Arnason to prevent a short pass putting one of a couple of forwards through on goal. Hinton replied with Castle and Duguid producing a good passing move to put Jones through again. On this day the winger wasn't to be denied, and he took the chance to give his team the lead. Still Aberdither came back at Hinton, with a couple more chances. but with time running out, they were having to push more men forward, which of course left gaps behind them. Inside the last minute, a clearance found Jones, who else, and on this occasion he turned provider for Evans to score and seal a first Cop success for Hinton United.

It is not the first time, in recent seasons, that the Cup Winners have also been relegated. Aberdither themselves suffered the fate in 01. From that setback, several players were allowed to leave and this present successful team was put together. What lies in store for Hinton, time will tell.

So ends, what we believe, has been a good and enjoyable season. It is now time to complete the clubs' finances and open the transfer window. Some interesting moves have reached the 'possible' stage, and there will be some new faces around next season. Perhaps the most intriguing 'new boy' is a European trophy winning captain likely to join Bullford, and he's not an ex-Toffee. In his day, he played in the same team today's man-of-the-match Barrie Jones.

A final word of thanks must go to our readers, for supporting us throughout the season. We hope to be back soon.